Material Focus has announced a £1 million Circular Electricals Fund aimed at developing more sustainable systems for electrical products in the UK. The fund will support projects that extend the lifespan of electrical goods and improve material recovery from electronic waste.

The fund will provide up to £150,000 per successful projects, with applications open to UK organisations including industry bodies, nonprofits, private companies, compliance schemes, universities and research institutions.

Projects are expected to demonstrate practical, scalable solutions across three key areas:

• Materials recovery: developing advanced recycling technologies to efficiently extract valuable materials from e-waste, particularly technology metals like lithium, copper, and gold
• Product design: creating electricals that are more durable, repairable and upgradable, such as consumer devices with easily replaceable components
• Business models: establishing services that promote reuse and waste reduction, including leasing arrangements, product-as-a-service offerings and sharing economy initiatives

Scott Butler, Executive Director of Material Focus, emphasised the need for change: “We are delighted to be announcing our new £1m Circular Electricals Fund which will help drive innovation and support the development of a more circular electricals system in the UK. We are looking for ambitious projects that can bring fresh new ideas to reduce the environmental impact of electricals by improving product design, improving resource efficiency, and encouraging collaboration."

The fund will also offer industry networking opportunities, communications support and insight into industry data and research trends.

The initiative comes as e-waste continues to rise at a fast rate. In the UK, approximately two million tonnes of electrical appliances are discarded each year, with 800 million smaller devices remaining unused in homes, according to SEUZ Recycling and Recovery UK.

Research from Material Focus indicates that discarded electrical items contain materials worth nearly £1 billion, including critical elements such as copper and lithium.

Butler explained the urgency of this challenge: “We have already funded over 60 projects that make it easier to fix, donate, and recycle existing electricals for over 10 million people across the UK. However, we are designing and making too many products without full consideration of the materials they are made from, the repairability of them, and how easy it is to recover useful parts and materials."

Who will be judging the Circular Electricals Fund?

The Circular Electricals Fund has assembled a panel of judges with expertise spanning business, environmental science, technology and innovation:

• Teresa Arbuckle, Managing Director UK and Ireland at Beko PLC, household appliance producers
• Asad Hamir, Co-Founder of Klyk, sustainable IT solutions company
• Andy Gomassall, Executive Director at n2s, sustainable IT asset management, and founding partner of Bioscope Technologies, who specialise in biotechnology material recovery
• Peter Moody, Executive Officer at GAP Group North East, electrical waste (WEEE) disposal and recycling service
• Yewande Akinola, award-winning engineer and innovator, and Professor of Engineering

Successful applicants will join a network of organisations working to change the UK's approach to electrical waste. The fund offers opportunities for collaboration with industry leaders and other innovators already making progress in electrical repair, donation and recycling systems.

Applications are open until 14 August 2025.